Closed-heel construction of stitchdown shoes



Nov. Z5, 1941. A. wERMAN ETAL HEEL CONSTRUCTION OF STITCHDOWN SHOES ICLOSED- Filed Jan. 20, 1940 im' 9M /UWL ATTORNEY I :NVEN-roRs ,45AM/#v7WEE/VAN .f7/:Hag 015507274- wwwwmmmwmmmmwww t \.\l j inn lllll 0 m U56lll Z f Patented Nov. 25, 1941 CLOSED-HEEL CQNSTRUCTION OF STITCH- DOWNSHOES Abraham Wei-man, Brooklyn, and Michele Cassotta, Corona, N. Y.,assignors to A. Werman & Sons, Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation ofNew York Application January zo, 1940, serial No. 314,858

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to a method of making a closed heel on astitchdown shoe, to a cutter for use in carrying out said method and toan improved shoe produced according to said method. The invention of thepresent application is in the nature of an improvement on the inventiondisclosed in the patent to Hoenberg 2,165,927, July 1l, 1939.

In making stitchdown shoes of the usual type, the leather of the upperis lasted with a fold near its edge at the bottom of the last so as toprovide an edge portion which projects outwardly from the fold. Theinsole is positioned on the bottom of the last and the upper adjacent tothe fold is secured to the insole by any suitable means such asstitching leaving the edge portion of the upper overlying the insole.After placing a welt piece in position above the edge portion of theupper to add to the appearance and strength of the shoe, the outsole issecured in position by a line of outsole stitching passing through thewelt, the upper, the insole and the outsole. This method of manufactureproduces a shoe in which the outsole stitching is visible around theheel portion of the shoe as well as around the edge of the sole to thefront of the heel, the heel projecting at the sides and rear of the heelportion of the upper part of the shoe.

According to the Hoffenberg patent, the outsole stitching was carriedcompletely around the shoe in one operation but the usual projection ofthe edge of the heel was avoided and the outsole stitching around theheel was concealed thus producing a shoe having the general appearanceof a Goodyear welt shoe of much higher grade. These results wereobtained by providing between the last and the heel portion of theinsole a suitable heel piece. This heel piece may be undercut or beveledso as to allow the lining, counter and upper to be wiped in folded formin and under the bevel of the heel piece, and the stitching of theseparts to the insole to be elected so as to urge the folded materialunder the edge of the heel piece. The outsole stitching around the heelwas then elected through a usual welt and close to the upper so as to behidden in the finished shoe.

It has also been proposed that, in trimming the heel, the welt be leftof substantial width so that, when pounded in, it will close the usualgap between the heel and the upper.

An important object of the invention is to provide an improved method ofmaking stitchdown shoes with closed heel seats. Another 1mportant objectof the invention is tov provide a novel and advantageous form of cutterfor use in said method. A further important object is to provide animproved shoe constructed in accordance with said method.

In carrying out the method of the present invention, the upper andlining are stitched to the insole as disclosed in said Hofienbergpatent. At

the heel, use is made of the undercut heel piece,

thus enabling the insole stitching to be made close to the heel. Theinsole stitching in the heel may be at a suitable inclination to drawthe folds of the upper, the counter and the lining beneath the undercutedges ofthe heel piece. 'Ihen the outsole is secured to the insole andupper by stitching which as theV heel passes through the usual welt, theupper, the edge of the counter and the insole, is inclined downwardlyand inwardly in the same general manner as the insole stitching at theheel. The heel is then applied in any suitable manner. Up to this pointthe making of the shoe has been substantially the same as disclosed inthe Hoffenberg patent.

The part of the sole to the front of the heel is trimmed substantiallyas usual but at the heel the edges of the insole, lining, counter, upperand welt are so trimmed that, when the trimming is completed, the heelproper will be of substantially the proper size and shape, and therewill be 'an overhang bevelled at the bottom to bring it to a thin edge,said overhang comprising a part of the welt. Then the overhangingmaterial is forced or pounded into the opening between the heel and bodyto close the same. The shoe, made in this way, resembles closelyGoodyear welt shoes. ,Y

Other objects, features and advantages will appear upon consideration ofthe following detailed description and of the drawing in which:

Fig. Y1 is a view comprising a rear elevation of a shoe underconstruction according to the present invention, the lower part of theView being in Section taken along the line I-I of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 2 is a section taken along the line 2 2 of Fig. l.

In the drawing, there is a fragmentary showing of a stitchdown shoe I0under construction in accordance with the present invention, said shoeI0 comprising an upper Il, a lining l2, an insole I3, an outsole I4, aheel stiffener or counter l5, a welt I6, and a heel piece Il such asthat shown in said Hoffenberg patent, such heel piece having an undercutedge at the sides and rear and a forward portion tapered to effectdecrease in thickness toward its forward edge.

In making the shoe I0, the upper II, the lining I2 and the counter I5are assembled and placed on a last (not shown) and the insole I3 and theheel piece I'I are placed on the bottom of the last with the heel piecebetween the last and the insole. The parts are so assembled that thematerials of the upper and the lining are folded, adjacent the bottom ofthe last, so that parts thereof extend outwardly. At the heel portion ofthe shoe, the lower edge of the counter is also folded outwardly overthe edge of the insole.

After such parts of the shoe have been assembled on the last, a line ofinsole stitching I9 may be run completely around the shoe to secure theoutwardly turned parts to the insole. At the heel portion, as disclosedin said Hoffenberg patent, the insole stitching I9 is inclineddownwardly and inwardly so as to act on the lining, counter and upper todraw them inwardly as far as possible under the overhang provided byundercutting the edge of the heel piece I'I. This arrangement willassist in rendering the upper part of insole stitching I9 substantiallyinvisible. Then the outsole I4 is secured in position by outsolestitching 20 run completely around the edge of the sole, said outsolestitching passing through not only the outturned edges of the upper, thecounter and the lining but also through the welt I6 placed over theoutturned portion of the upper. The Welt IB may be grooved to receivethe stitching below its surface. The outsole stitching is also inclinedat the heel to assist in closing the heel portion. After the outsole I4has been stitched, a heel 2| may be attached to the shoe.

In connection with such a stitchdown shoe with a closed heel, it isimportant to place the manufacture thereof on a practical and commercialbasis as to economy of manufacture and quality of product. In attainingthese ends, we have developed a novel and advantageous cutter 22 fortrimming the edges of the heel, the outsole, the insole, the lining, thecounter, the upper and the welt, in such a manner as to enable theformation of a smaller heel and a better closing of the heel thanheretofore, thus obtaining an improved shoe. The improved cutter 22,which is in many respects similar to a usual cutter heretofore in use,comprises a body with a plurality of cutting members or blades 23supported on arms 24, here shown as being generally tangent to the bodyof the cutter. The cutting edges of the blades are somewhat farther fromthe axis of the cutter than the outer surfaces of the blades to the rearof the cutting edges. As illustrated, each of the blades 23 is supportedat one end on an arm 24 and there is a slight outward flare of theblades from the ends supported by the blades as in cutters heretofore inuse. However, the cutters of the present invention differ from thoseheretofore in use in various respects, for example, the outer surfacesof the blades 23 have a slight crown longitudinally of the axis and,preferably at the ends over the arms 24, are inclined toward the axis ofthe cutter. When in use the crowned edge of the cutter will make aslightly concave cut on the edge of the heel proper and the inclinededge portion will form an overhang 25 of various parts including thewelt and the upper and possibly the counter, as illustrated at the rightin Fig. 1.

This trimming is carried on completely around the heel and later thebeveled overhanging edges of the welt are pounded in against the upperof the shoe to close the opening between the heel and the upper part ofthe shoe as illustrated at the left in Fig. 1. The beveled outer edge ofthe welt is particularly adapted for inward folding of the beveled edge.The instrument used in the pounding may be substantially the same at thecutter except for the fact that edges of the blades win be dull".A

Although the insole and the outsole stitching are described as inclinedaround the heel portion of the shoe, the important requirement is tohave the stitching close to the shoe. Also it is of importance to havethe welt thinned at its outer edge so that the thin portion can readilybe folded over and pounded into position. Where the trimming is to bedone by a single cutter, the trimming of the welt will almostnecessarily be at its lower face. Also the shape of the edge portions ofthe cutter blades may be Varied both in the parts for trimming the heelsproper and for the parts to trim the welts. f

It should be understood that various features may be changed and thatcertain features may be used without others, without departing from thetrue spirit and scope of the invention.

What we claim is:

The method of making a stitchdown shoe which comprises stitching to theforward part of an insole the outturned edge of an upper, continuing theinsole stitching around the heel portion of the shoe but with an inwardand downward inclination to stitch the upper and the edge of a counterto the insole, stitching an outsole to the insole, counter and upperwith a welt over the upper and extending continuously around the forwardpart of the insole as Well as the heel portion, the stitching at theheel being inclined in the same manner as the insole stitching, trimmingthe edge of the heel and welt to shape the heel edge from bottom to top,and to form an undercut bevel of the projecting edge of the welt, andforcing' the projecting portion of the welt into place over theoutsole-attaching stitching to conceal the latter and close the heel.

ABRAHAM WERMAN. MICHELE CASSOTTA.

